Open house set for College of Marin dance studios in revamped performing arts building

Dance students at the College of Marin are set to cut a rug Friday and Sunday in celebration of the college's new dance center.

Dance faculty and students are hosting two open house events to show off the new dance studios, which were built as part of a $17.2 million overhaul of the college's performing arts building.

The first open house is set for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11. The second will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the College of Marin, 835 College Ave. in Kentfield. Dancers will be doing demonstrations.

After holding classes in portable buildings for the past five years, college dance teacher Kristi Kuhn said she's excited about moving into the renovated, window-clad studios.

"They took probably the worst, dark dungeon you could imagine and made it a wonderful facility," Kuhn said.

The two new dance studios, one small and one large, are on the first floor of the performing arts complex. Dancers can plié to their hearts' delight in the rooms, which feature large windows, an entire wall of mirrors and ballet barres.

College administrative assistant Nicole Cruz said the largest studio is a "smart" room, meaning it has wireless Internet capability and a special projector system. She said a 60-inch flat-screen TV is going into the smaller room so students can review and critique performances.

Construction crews worked feverishly Thursday to finish installing vinyl coverings on the studio floors, which Kuhn said fit over a special type of Marley flooring.

"The floors are state-of-the-art sprung dance floors," Kuhn said. "It's what you put in a dance studio to protect a dancer's joints."

Crews were also busy outside working on the building's landscaping. Tractors moved piles of dirt into planter boxes surrounding the complex. Cruz said the new studios should be ready in time for the start of the spring semester Monday, but that the landscaping might take some additional time.

"These last things come together very quickly," Cruz said.

As part of the building renovation, which began in January 2011, a new lobby, entryway and art gallery have been created. The art gallery is now its own separate room, no longer residing in the building's lobby. A new ticket booth for the building's theater and a new catering kitchen have also been installed.

Music teacher Tara Flandreau said the revamped performing arts building is wonderful. She said all of the windows in the lobby make it a more inviting space.

"If we have an event going on at night, people will see the lights and know where to go," Flandreau said.

The college's dance program alone caters to about 150 students who can obtain an associate's degree in dance. The six dance teachers offer classes in ballet, modern, jazz, Afro-Haitian, musical theater, modern ballet, choreography, improvisation, dance history, dancercise, dance production and dance company.

The College of Marin will hold an open house for its new dance studios from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The studios are in the dance center of the performing arts building, 835 College Ave. in Kentfield.